In-home or nursing home? COVID-19 has made us re-examine the care of our elderly

BY ANDREW STEWART

As COVID-19 ravages nursing homes across Canada those who are responsible for the care of our elderly have taken on a vastly more important role. The well-being of our parents and grandparents is our ultimate wish as they age and live out the last years of their lives. Aging is a fact of life and it affects all families. As adult children who may already be caring for our parents as seniors or will be in the future, we may not fully comprehend the extent to which their aging will affect them or how it will affect us not only emotionally but also financially.

Many seniors who have in-home care are only there because they have family members supporting them. But the choice between in-home care or facility care will inevitability take into account varying levels of activities of daily living (ADLs) that can be met effectively. An overall decline in physical and mental vitality may result in visible and even drastic changes to ADL’s, our parent’s appearance, and standard of life. If there is impaired mobility and health issues that make it difficult or impossible to take care ADLs such as self-feeding, functional and mobility, dressing, bathing or showering, and personal hygiene independently then determining whether to provide care by family members or someone else who is qualified or investing in the proper equipment and accessories would be the next step.

Just as important as ADLs but are exceedingly forgotten about are activities called instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). IADLs refer to the following types of activities within long-term care: cooking and preparing meals, cleaning and maintaining the home, shopping and buying necessities, running errands, managing money, and paying bills, speaking or communicating on the phone or through other devices and taking prescribed medications. Long-term care insurance gives you added protection that government plans alone may not be able to provide, helping minimize cost and stress to you and your family.

Benefits of long-term care insurance

The benefits can provide flexibility so we can be cared for in the manner we desire the most, which may include:

• Remaining self-sufficient without relying on limited government programs or burdening our family with caregiving responsibilities
• Protect our savings, preserve an inheritance for loved ones and prevent running out of money in retirement due to extra health costs
• Home renovations required to make living space suitable
• Replacing lost income from a spouse or caregiver

How does a long-term care insurance plan work?

Generally speaking, plans can be set up to either reimburse specific expenses, such as homemaking or private nursing services, or they can provide an income-style benefit, which means you’d receive money regularly that could be spent any way you choose. Staying in a long-term care facility can cost thousands of dollars a month and long-term care insurance can help pay for stays in nursing homes and chronic care facilities, as well as for rehabilitation and therapy programs.

When a parent starts in any way depending upon their child, a world has turned upside down. It can be a strain emotionally, physically, and financially, especially when it means taking time off work or leaving full-time employment to provide that care. Long-term care insurance can help relieve some of that stress. Try to remember that taking care of an elderly parent is generally a marathon, not a sprint so take it slow and let the process reveal itself to you.